


no need to freeze anymore

by helloearthlings



Category: King Falls AM (Podcast)
Genre: Bonding, Developing Friendships, Fluff, Friendship, Future Fic, Gen, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-03-08 18:39:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18900373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helloearthlings/pseuds/helloearthlings
Summary: “I could brush your hair,” Ben blurts out before he can help himself. He winces for impact when Lily turns to give him an incredulous look. It’s not mean or derisive, though. Just shocked. Her eyes widen almost fearfully as her eyebrows raise into her forehead, her mouth twisting in a look of surprise.





	no need to freeze anymore

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back in America! This will likely mean an overabundance of fic in the next few weeks. God, I missed writing fic a lot. I'm still busy, still got a lot to do including my own personal writing projects, but I love fic and have so much fun writing it, so you'll see a lot from me again soon. 
> 
> Hope you like this one! It was a great warm-up for me to get back into things.

Ben is surprised, to say the least, when he comes through the door balancing his six bags of groceries to see Lily Wright pacing through the kitchen with a knotted forehead and close-lipped look of anger and frustration on her face.

“Oh,” Lily looks up when she sees Ben, and her voice doesn’t match the disgruntlement Ben had been expecting based on her expression. Her voice is almost… _relieved._ That’s not the usual Lily Wright Sees Ben Arnold Expression. “Good. You’re back.”

Lily, to Ben’s deep shock, takes two of the grocery bags out of his hands, lightening his load, and sets them on the kitchen table. Then she takes the next two bags, and then the last two, all without saying a word to him, or even looking directly at him.

“Lily…” Ben says slowly, not wanting to spook her. She looks at him, but not in the eye, more like the nose. “What are you doing up?”

To Ben’s knowledge, this is the first time Lily’s been up and walking around since her, Sammy, and Jack had collapsed into Sammy’s bed four days ago. Every time Ben’s tentatively knocked on the door and poked his head in, they’ve all been in the same position. Lily pressed up against Jack’s back, her face buried in the back of his neck, and Sammy curled into Jack’s chest, Jack’s thin t-shirt hiding his teary eyes while Jack’s arms hook around Sammy’s waist.

Jack is usually the one to smile at Ben over the top of Sammy’s head, exhausted and unsure of what’s going on, really. Still, he knows that he’s safe and that Sammy and Lily are never, ever going to leave his side, which was what matters most.

Ben’s been taking care of them by way of copious amounts of soup, along with the insistence that they let Jack take a shower and get the grime and grease off which Jack thanked him profusely for. Not to mention warding off any potential visitors, friends or foes.

There had been a huge group on That Night, the one Ben’s trying not to think about. There hasn’t been a huge group since then, since they got home with Jack fully intact. Ben doesn’t think Huge Groups will be good for anyone’s health right now. Obviously Jack, but Sammy and Lily are fragile, too. The three of them deserve to scrunch together in a too-small bed and not move for weeks, with no interruptions no matter how well-meaning.

Emily’s the only one who’s been in the apartment since they managed to get Jack inside without attracting any undue attention. Troy and Mary were both aware enough not to try and stop by, but they send Ben hourly text messages asking for updates. As do most of their friends. It’s not time yet for that, though.

Which is why it’s shocking to see Lily ripping into grocery bags and putting items into cupboards with sheer efficiency, her usual no-nonsense attitude clear in every movement of her hands.

“Lily,” Ben catches her arm before she can put the Cheerios in their usual place above the sink. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Lily says, her voice milder than Ben expected. It’s not angry or jabbing like he might’ve expected. “I’m being helpful.”

“Is Jack okay?” Ben asks, his eyes unwittingly traveling over to the door of Sammy’s room, which is closed.

“Jack is fine,” Lily says, a little emotion creeping into her voice, and pats Ben’s shoulder awkwardly as if to comfort him. “I, the benevolent older sister that I am, decided to take a short break from my brother’s presence in order to let him have some time alone with his boyfriend. They’re probably too emotional to actually manage to have sex, but I would guess they’re necking while they cry.”

This is a typical Lily jab in its words, but it doesn’t exactly land, the thin line of her mouth giving away her worry.

“That’s nice of you,” Ben says, because it is. Jack had been less shocked about the Void and King Falls and being missing for five years and the general existence of Ben and Emily than he was about the fact that Sammy and Lily were friends again. More than friends – close enough to stay in Sammy’s bed together for four days straight. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“It’s just –” Lily sighs almost angrily as she sets the strawberry pop-tarts next to the toaster. She doesn’t look at Ben, but her shoulders slump just slightly. “It’s just that this is the first time he hasn’t been in my direct line of sight, okay? And that – that makes me _nervous_.”

Her jaw clenches. Ben wants to step toward her to comfort her, but makes himself stay next to the fridge, a safe two feet away, in case Lily decides to lash out, as she can do on occasion.

“He’s with Sammy,” Ben says, trying to keep his voice even and reassuring. “Sammy won’t let anything happen to him.”

“I know,” Lily says sharply, her harsh green eyes meeting Ben’s for half a second before she glances away. “I’m not saying I don’t trust Sammy with my brother. I’ve grown beyond that particular petty grievance. I’m saying….that I’m being extremely stupid and unreasonable. There’s no need to worry. I just…. _am.”_

“I understand,” Ben takes a tentative step toward her, not wanting to scare her off. She’s a bit like Sammy in that way. Affection is scary. Touch is scary. Especially when vulnerable. Avoid at all costs. “After Emily – I wasn’t even allowed to see her. I thought I would burst with the stress of it all, not knowing if she was still safe, or if something worse had –”

Ben swallows, voice cracking, and Lily looks him square in the eye. The look on her face isn’t quite soft – but it’s not hardened, either.

“You’ll get to be here, through all of it,” Ben tells her. “The recovery process. Helping him readjust. You’ll always get to be there. No one is going to make you leave him.”

Lily nods, pursing her lips. “I know all that. It’s just – it’s been so long without him. This could all be a dream, and then I’ll wake up with a bad hangover in Washington DC with a dead brother and a best friend who won’t speak to me.”

Ben can’t help himself. He crosses the last foot of space between them, and puts a gentle arm around Lily’s shoulder. He’s a couple inches shorter, but she’s close enough in height that he can still reach without too much difficulty, unlike with most of his too-tall friends.

“It’s okay,” Ben says, and Lily keeps up with her surprises when she turns and puts her other arm around Ben’s waist, locking him in a hug.

It lasts all of two seconds, but when Lily springs away, she’s smiling. Another surprise. It’s a rueful smile, but a smile nonetheless.

“It’s okay to be scared,” Ben tells her, hoping that she’ll listen.

“Whatever,” Lily mutters under her breath, her usual walled-up demeanor clearly falling back into place as the smile fades and she brushes past Ben to walk into the adjoining living room. She looks at the couch for a moment as if she’s going to sit, but then resumes her previous pacing.

“Let’s watch TV,” Ben tells her, crossing the room to join her. He doesn’t physically pull her onto the couch, but he does perch there himself with an expectant look at her that says _join me._

Lily grimaces and gives the couch next to him a disdainful look, but she lets out a short sigh before she sits on the opposite end.

“Great British Bake-Off?” Ben suggests. “I’m sure Sammy will forgive us for watching without him.”

That manages to get a smile out of Lily. The Great British Bake-Off has been their latest de-stressor of a TV show. Each of the three of them chooses someone to root for every episode and trash-talk everyone else. Ben had protested at first that they were ruining the pure and happy world of the Bake-Off, but he’d devolved into being a part of Sammy and Lily’s sardonic bitching in the end.

They’re about five minutes into the show, Lily still looking tense and strung out, when she starts pulling at the ponytail in her hair.

As with most things in their lives, Sammy and Lily are more similar than either of them will care to admit. Ben’s noticed that their hair is no exception. Lily didn’t start her tenure in King Falls with an overlarge, messy bun on the top of her head, but she certainly had one now. Her hair is shorter than Sammy’s, but it’s hard to tell length when neither of them ever wear it down, instead obscuring how little care they take of themselves and their hair with ponytails and buns.

After four days of not leaving the bed, Lily’s bun is clearly worse for wear. She picks out the ponytail and her hair practically stands straight up without it. She grimaces as she bunches up her hair and pulls it  higher, moving to wind the ponytail back around it.

“I could brush your hair,” Ben blurts out before he can help himself. He winces for impact when Lily turns to give him an incredulous look. It’s not mean or derisive, though. Just shocked. Her eyes widen almost fearfully as her eyebrows raise into her forehead, her mouth twisting in a look of surprise. 

“Sorry,” Ben adds hastily. “I just – I mean, you’ve seen me brush Sammy’s hair. I thought…I mean, maybe it would be good for you.”

“You saying my hair is a mess?” Lily asks, but not defensively or like she’s going to pull Ben’s teeth out. Only with a soft laugh that says that she absolutely knows what her hair looks like right now.

“I’m saying….” Ben searches for the right words that won’t make Lily react in a volatile way. Which is more difficult than it sounds, as Lily’s favorite mood is volatile. Maybe not so much now that Jack’s here, though. Maybe that will change. “I’m saying that I’d like to help you feel less anxious, and maybe brushing your hair will help.”

Lily looks steadfastly at the ground, and Ben feels awkward about trying to analyze her expression so he looks at the ground, too.

“I am capable of brushing my own hair,” Lily starts, pursing her lips. “If I let you do anything with it, that doesn’t mean that I’m saying you can take care of me better than I can take care of myself.”

“Not at all,” Ben says quickly. “I know you can take care of yourself. I’m saying….let me help you. I’ve gotten pretty good at helping Sammy, but – but you need some TLC, too.”

“You’re such a suburban mom for saying TLC,” Lily shakes her head, but Ben feels a rush of happiness when he hears the clear affection in her insult.

“I’ll…I’ll go get the brush,” Ben gestures toward the bathroom. To his surprise, all Lily does is nod. No more protests.

Ben hurries, just in case she decides to bolt, but she’s in the same position when he gets back, looking awkward and more than a little lost as her eyes go between Ben and the closed door to Sammy’s room.

“Here,” Ben perches on the couch, pointing at the floor in front of his spot. “You can sit – this is how Sammy –”

Lily gives the floor a reticent look, but not a disdainful one. She crosses the room and folds herself awkwardly against the couch. Ben decides it’s best to crisscross his legs rather than have her lean between them. She would make a dirty joke if he did.

Lily’s hair is just like Sammy’s, which Ben’s managed to talk Sammy into letting him brush three times now. Sammy and Lily look more like siblings than Lily and Jack do, with their pulled-back messy brown hair, square glasses, and twin annoyed expressions whenever Ben says something they don’t approve of.

Ben gets out her ponytail without any trouble, but Lily’s hair is knotted enough to make her wince as he runs the brush through the first time. He gets stuck on a knot almost immediately, and begins the slow process of picking it out.

He can’t see Lily’s face, thankfully, and from what he can tell she’s intently focused on the Bake Off still playing on the TV and not what Ben’s doing. Ben knows her a little better than that, though, and is aware that it’s a ruse, that there’s as many thoughts going through Lily’s mind as there is Ben’s right now.

They don’t talk until Ben has managed to pull out all the knots – meaning an episode and a half later, Lily’s hair has gotten longer recently – and is brushing now more to comfort her than to actually help her hair’s health.

“Do you want me to braid it?” Ben asks before he can help himself. Lily, whose shoulders relaxed maybe thirty minutes ago, tenses up again.

“You can braid hair?” Lily asks. Her voice isn’t mocking, or incredulous, more like _knowing._ Affectionately knowing – like _of course_ Ben can braid hair. “Have you braided Sammy’s?”

“He won’t let me,” Ben says, a slight smile on his face. “Maybe he will now that Jack’s….now that he’s happy again. But I braid Emily’s sometimes.”

“Did she teach you?” Lily asks, seemingly genuinely curious.

“No,” Ben shakes his head. “When I was in elementary school, all of my friends were girls. They had a lot of fun teaching me.”

“Huh,” Lily says, and she cracks no jokes at Ben’s expense, like he was fully expecting. Instead, she says “I never learned how to braid hair. When I was a kid, I was always one of the boys. I mean, Jack and I were so close. We had the same friends, so we’d run around playing cops and robbers. So it was never in my skill-set.”

“Well, I can teach you if, if you want,” Ben stumbles over the words, but the idea makes his heart swell and he has to hide a smile. “We could practice on Sammy’s hair.”

That makes Lily laugh, a snort that she clearly just couldn’t help. “He’d _love_ that.”

“Welcome to the Arnold and Wright Salon,” Ben grins and Lily practically _giggles_. Ben’s never heard anyone get a giggle out of her before.

“We could’ve braided Jack’s hair if Sammy hadn’t already cut it,” Lily says. Jack’s hair had been shaggy and shoulder-length four days ago, but one of the only things Jack had asked for since he’d gotten home was for someone to cut his hair. He didn’t like the feeling on the back of his neck.

Sammy had cut it in the bathroom, Lily hovering and instructing Sammy on how to use the scissors without hurting himself or others while Jack laughed at them.

Ben stood in the doorway and watched, thinking that he’d never seen Sammy or Lily happier before.

“Sammy’s is still the longest, it’s longer than Emily’s now, I think,” Ben says. “Best to try our prowess out on him.”

“Have you taught him to braid hair?” Lily asks and Ben shakes his head.

“He would never deign to let me do that,” Ben rolls his eyes good-naturedly as he thinks of the disgruntled look Sammy would get on his face if Ben even suggested it. “But maybe I can run group lessons. Does Jack know how?”

“Sammy’s hair used to be chin-length, so I’m sure Jack never tried it on his hair,” Lily says. “And we had the same childhood, so I’m guessing you’re the expert here, Arnold. A thought we should all shudder at.”

“Well, are you gonna let me braid it or not?” Ben asks and Lily turns to him, making eye contact for only half a second, but her eyes are softer than Ben’s ever seen directed at him specifically.

“We’ve already come this far,” Lily says after a second’s hesitation, that rueful smile coming back. “Have at it, kid.”

Ben grins, and starts to pull Lily’s hair back.


End file.
